UPDATE: Subject of McArthur Island gun complaint had BB gun

Sep 18, 2018 | 1:32 PM

KAMLOOPS — UPDATE (3:35 p.m.) RCMP say the subject of a frantic police response to McArthur Island was carrying a BB gun that looked exactly like a real handgun.

Police rushed to McArthur Island after a report from a caller saying a man may have a handgun in his backpack.

Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says it didn’t take officers long to find the man.

“The 17 year old was wearing camouflage, head to toe… that in itself is somewhat suspicious,” said Shelkie. “Right now, he’s in police custody and we’ll be sending the information to the B.C. Prosecution Service, who will determine what charges will be laid against him.”

The teenager is known to police in Alberta, where he is from.

“It’s early in the investigation, but we’re not sure why he was on McArthur Island, what he was doing in Kamloops from Alberta, or why he was carrying this BB gun that looks like a handgun,” said Shelkie.

The incident resulted in the ‘hold and secure’ protocol being enacted briefly at nearby NorKam Secondary School.

Shelkie says it’s no wonder the caller didn’t recognize the weapon as a BB gun, noting the weapon could have fooled seasoned law enforcement officers.

“This looks exactly like a handgun,” said Shelkie. “If he had pulled this (BB gun) out of his clothing, police officers would have demanded that he drop it and if he didn’t, it very well could have ended differently than it did today.”

UPDATE (1:45 p.m.): School District officials say the subject of complaint has been apprehended and the ‘hold and secure’ has been lifted.

EARLIER: Kamloops RCMP are swarming McArthur Island after the report of a person who may have a gun.

Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says the 911 caller said when the subject individual opened his backpack, there may have been a gun inside.

Shelkie notes that has had an impact on nearby NorKam Secondary School, which has activated ‘hold and secure’ protocol out of an abundance of caution.

She adds this protocol is not as intense as a full scale lockdown.

“‘Hold and secure’ means simply that the doors to the school are monitored, nobody is allowed into the school or out of the school until the incident has been taken care of,” Shelkie. “Whereas a lockdown means that all of the doors within the school are secured, the students are on the floor away from anywhere that someone could potentially harm them.”

“In this situation, though, in a ‘hold and secure,’ students can still go about their business in the schools, they can leave their classrooms and do everything they [would normally do] within the school,” added Shelkie.

Shelkie noted the subject of the complaint was not seen to be acting in an erratic or threatening manner, but officers want to find him to determine whether in fact he has a gun.